Pakistan rearrests ex-president Musharraf over Red Mosque deaths

By Amjad Ali and Syed Raza Hassan

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan rearrested former president Pervez Musharraf on Thursday after accusations that he was personally responsible for the deaths of more than 100 people when he ordered commandos to storm the Red Mosque in 2007.

The operation at the radical mosque in the capital of Islamabad followed a week-long standoff between the mosque's supporters and security forces.

The rearrest came after Musharraf had been granted bail in three other cases and his lawyer said on Wednesday he was cleared to leave the country.

A complaint against Musharraf in the Red Mosque case was registered last month on the orders of a judge. Police superintendent Mohammed Rizwan said Musharraf had been accused but not formally charged.

Musharraf, then head of the army, took power in a 1999 coup but was ousted by popular protests led by the country's judiciary. He went into exile in 2008 but returned earlier this year in an abortive attempt to launch a political career.

His arrest broke a tradition that Pakistan's powerful army chiefs are never arrested, even after they leave office. The military has ruled Pakistan for more than half of the country's history.